FILM REVIEW: THE NUN

Like many horror fans, I was eager to see The Nun. As a fan of The Conjuring and its counterparts, I was curious to see what delights this latest addition had in store. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to write home about.

The Nun tells the story of a dark spirit, Valek (Bonnie Aarons), which resides in a gothic abbey in the depths of Romania. The Vatican orders a priest (Demián Bichir) and a novice nun (Taissa Farmiga) to investigate the death of a nun at the property. The two are joined by a local, Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) who found the nun’s body and are soon terrorised as the spirit threatens to take one of their souls.

An interesting premise that, unfortunately, is poorly executed. The script is poor, and the acting is stilted.

And it’s just not scary.

Granted, at the cinema I was surrounded by people jumping out of their skin. But these were cheap scares that should be reserved for a horror that doesn’t have so much to live up to.

The saving grace of this film is that it’s funny. Not what I expected but it worked. Most of the humour is provided by Bloquet, who is adorable. By far the best thing in the film, he reminds me of Olaf – the only saving grace in the otherwise boresville Frozen.

There are also some luscious, sweeping camera shots of the Romanian countryside and an ominous soundtrack.

As for the rest of the film? Well, it’s rather boring. The characters have no depth, the plot has holes and Valek wasn’t terrifying.

Parts of the film didn’t work or tie together. And some plot points were laughable – “Thank God someone rescued me from that coffin! Oh look, there is a book that explains what is going on around here.”

There is also so much fog and mist that it surely took up most of the budget, which is why some of the CGI looked poor.

Silent Hill should also feel hard done by as there is a direct rip of the “nurse scene”.

There is a scene that takes place in water (how did that water get there?) that’s cool. And I liked the tie in to The Conjuring at the end.

Overall, if you’re a fan of The Conjuring universe, I’d say go see it. Even if you’re not a fan, go see it. There are some enjoyable elements and it’s certainly a lot better than what’s currently on at the cinema (I’m looking at you, Slender Man).

If anything, The Nun has provided another costume choice for Halloween.